


|always with the next time|

by littlekaracan



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Gen, No angst at all, SO PISSED, im just writing davidson, its just life lessons with two sleepy sons and an equally sleepy dad and also arald is so, not even if you squint, tbh i dont even know what gils last name is, this is all just banter and dad!halt im ngl, this is written off of a tumblr post so im linking that in the notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 23:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18537871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlekaracan/pseuds/littlekaracan
Summary: Young people, must they always leave havoc in their wake? Is it really illegal for boys to live their lives without giving their mentor daily headaches? Must they always think of new ways to mess with authority? Must they always ask so many questions? Must they claim they've learned their lessons and run off to get into trouble all in one breath?Halt is well-aware there's going to be a next time with his apprentices. There always is.





	|always with the next time|

**Author's Note:**

> anyway so this absolute masterpiece of a tumblr post was made by @corpscommandantcrowley  
> [right over here](https://corpscommandantcrowley.tumblr.com/post/151089907392/i-want-a-fanfic-where-gilan-and-will-pull-some)
> 
> you ask for a fic, you bet i'll write the fic. just regular ol "what the hell did you just do you buffoons. you fools. what is it now"!halt, ft. "bro i thought we were cool"!arald

Baron Arald was sure that he was angry enough to stay that way for quite some time. Angry enough to make accusations, even. Angry enough to maybe allow himself a curseword or two under his breath. Angry enough to call in a messenger during ungodly hours of the morning and get a message out to Halt. And not even the pity for the poor boy who had to make a trip through the woods and wake up two whole rangers (imagine!) could stop him. 

However, there was always something a Ranger brought with him that completely defused his well-preserved fury and, if he was really unlucky, replaced it with helplessness. Surely enough, as Arald was watching a lonely figure dismount his horse and pat it on the nose before heading inside from the window, he had to take a few breaths and remember that this man might look like the most civilized person he'd ever seen, but, after knowing him for a considerable amount of time, he knew better.  
  
He fidgeted for a minute, fixing a few books on his table, and only sat down still when there was a silent clutter from the other side of the door; the guards were on high alert, and, after the night they'd had, Arald didn't blame them. Given a moment, the door creaked - a bit odd for a Ranger, but, again, it _was_ rather early - and Halt stood in front of him, having made it up the stairs in an unfairly short amount of time and, as usual, given no sound that indicated his presence other than the muffled chatter of the guards in the hall.  
  
"Good morning, my lord." Halt's voice was quiet, if a little weary.   
  
"It is not a good morning, Halt," Arald responded, grimacing to the best of his ability. "Not a good morning at all."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that." The Ranger was clearly unfazed, even going so far as to shrug his shoulders in disinterest. "How come?"  
  
"You might've noticed something on your way inside," Arald continued, giving him an expressive look. "Anything a bit different, perhaps."  
  
He was met with a trademark raised eyebrow and finally gave up. Halt only ever played his own games, apparently.  
  
"The guards, Halt! Don't they seem a little on edge to you?"  
  
A thin little smile crept onto Halt's face. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't being on edge their job?"  
  
It was rather clear to Arald that he couldn't win against the wit of a Ranger woken up and sent out for a scolding without his morning coffee, but damn if he wouldn't have tried. And, well, he lost, as always.  
  
Raising his hand to pinch his nosebridge absent-mindedly, Arald gestured to the chair in front of his desk.  
  
"Sit down, Halt."  
  
"If possible, I'd like to settle your matter as fast as it can be done, my lord." Halt didn't move an inch, and neither did his smug expression.  
  
_Your_ matter. It occured to Arald that the Ranger's in no good mood at all, but then again, neither is he.   
  
"The _matter_ will be settled as _fast_ as _I say_ it will be," he said, stressing nearly every word only to earn another unbothered stare from Halt and a slightly raised eyebrow - the other one, this time.  
  
"In that case, I will sit down," he said simply, pulling out the chair backward and, after settling down with a little more noise than usual, he laced his fingers together over the crest rail.   
  
Again, the Baron felt as if the Ranger was about to start lecturing him and not the other way around. They tended to have a presence that spun a situation in exactly the direction to make it seem like they were making their own choices instead of being ordered around, and, well, Halt very evidently didn't leave that presence back in his cabin.  
  
Seeing no point in entertaining him further, Arald sighed.  
  
"You're here this morning because there was a commotion in the halls tonight," he said. Halt tilted his head in confusion, voicelessly asking him to continue. "The guards - I was asking you about them, remember - reported hearing noises and searched around for the source, but to no avail. Those noises were there all night, according to them. Disappearing, reappearing. Peculiar, I thought, didn't make much of it, but then-"  
  
"What kind of noises?" Halt cut in, inching forward slightly, eyes suddenly a bit sharper. Content with the focus, Arald leaned back, excusing the interruption.  
  
"Shuffling, apparently."  
  
Halt’s tone melted back into exasperation. "Shuffling," he repeated.  
  
"I wouldn't have called you in for just shuffling," Arald shushed him. "But the other sounds - which were, as reported, iron being dragged across bricks and wood against stone - were a bit more concerning."  
  
He could sense gears turning in Halt's head. Or maybe Halt wanted him to sense that.  
  
"Therefore, you believe there's been an attack?" Halt questioned, raising both eyebrows this time. _A feat_. Arald was quick to shake his head.  
  
"No need for hyperbole, Halt. I don't think there's been an 'attack', just some people trying to irritate our guards."  
  
"Whoever that could be."

He knew what Arald was about to suggest, they both knew he did, and his tone was so dry it'd make even the hardest diplomat recoil. And Arald didn't even like doing paperwork.   
  
He shifted uncomfortably, somehow managing to keep an even voice.  
  
"Well, without pointing any fingers..." He shrugged apologetically, despite still managing to nail Halt down to his chair with a look when he looked like he was about to jump up.  
  
The Ranger made no move at all though, not even a twitch of his hand.  
  
"You call me to your judgement and you tell me you're not pointing any fingers," Halt echoed in a high tone, which, frankly, bordered on straight mockery.  
  
"Oh, Halt, stop making it out to be bigger than it is. I'm not judging you for anything, I just have some reasonable suspicions," Arald explained with a smile he wanted to think was reassuring, but Halt's expression screamed that he needed anything but reassurance.  
  
"Let me get this straight, then, my lord - your _reasonable suspicions_ are, more or less, that I snuck into the castle in the middle of the night for absolutely no forseeable reason, whirled some pots and pans around for a few hours, got back to the cabin and didn't slaughter your messenger on sight because of my lack of sleep?" Halt had leaned forward again, a challenge painted over his face. _Go on, accuse me_. "My lord, I am honestly a bit disappointed with your lack of faith in me."  
  
It was Arald's turn to raise an eyebrow. Slowly, he questioned, "So you're meaning to tell me you wouldn't do something like that?"  
  
There was a sudden glimmer in Halt's eye, a little flash of familiar mischief. "Oh, not at all. I could, if need be, do something similar, and who am I to deny myself my nature?" The glimmer disappeared as quickly as it emerged as Halt reaffirmed, "I do, however, want to draw your attention to two things I'd like to think I possess, my lord: self-control and silence. If I were to pull a stunt quite like that, you would not be hearing any shuffling. Or _anything_ , for that matter."  
  
Baron Arald swore the rising morning sun was playing tricks again, because Ranger Halt was probably physically and legally incapable of a smile wider than an inch or so.  
  
Well - really, when he spun it that way, it did sound rather silly, but Arald had an ace up his sleeve.  
  
"The guards also reported giggling," he stressed.  
  
"Giggling." He knew Halt had some oddly inhuman qualities, but he'd never seen the dark eyes rolled up so far into his skull. He could probably see his own insides at that point. "Excuse my defensiveness, my lord, but shouldn't that alone rule me out?"  
  
"Right, that's what I'd think as well." Arald chuckled. "Honestly, I can hardly imagine you laughing, much less..."  
  
Upon seeing Halt's expression, he wisely decided against adding any more weight to that front.  
  
"Either way." He was going to tread into very dangerous territory now, possibly worse than the one the poor trainee knight with a broken nose stumbled upon a few years ago. "Maybe you wouldn't be giggling around, but you're not the only Ranger in those woods, are you?"  
  
A moment of silence. Thank every deity out there Arald made the decision to avoid Halt's eyes, because he probably would've been reduced to a pile of dust on his chair immediately.  
  
"You think Will just decided to- do all the things you described." It wasn't a question. More of an accusation in a stone-cold tone. And Arald didn't like it very much.  
  
"I wouldn't assume something like that if there wasn't more evidence," he explained. Halt didn't even blink.  
  
"Pray tell of this evidence." Sort of remembering the titles, he added, nearly inaudibly: "My lord."  
  
"The onlooking soldiers - from the top of the wall - saw a Ranger horse leaving and, later, entering the woods. The men couldn't make out who was on the horse, but it was most likely the owner."  
  
"A Ranger horse," Halt repeated. Arald had a feeling he repeated a lot of things today. "How would they know?"  
  
"Not many people ride a pony out into the woods at night," Arald let on, and Halt closed his eyes momentarily.  
  
"My lord," the title held more venom than respect on his tongue, now. "You're accusing my apprentice of something the guards may or may not have imagined based on the kind of horse a person was riding."  
  
"But-" Swiftly, Halt cut him off:  
  
"Moreover, didn't the guards search for the source of the noise? How would a single boy outrun trained soldiers?"  
  
"You Rangers have your ways." Arald waved it off, but Halt's face, again, definitely suggested he shouldn't have done that. "Besides," he cut in hurriedly, "The guards say that, once they were sure they had the culprit cornered, the noise would start in the different direction. They'd chase that one, and it would all repeat."  
  
For a second, all was silent. Halt was staring, and Arald was holding his glare.  
  
Slowly, the Ranger lifted his hand to rub the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"What? What is it?" Considerably annoyed, Arald tilted his head at him, but Halt only raised his eyes with a hardly contained sneer.  
  
"My lord, now I'm very sorry to disagree with your theories, but this mysterious disappearing noise doesn't indicate a Ranger's presence." He paused for a moment, still trying to keep a still expression. "It indicates _multiple people_."  
  
Arald didn't answer at once. Of course, he hardly ever thought Halt did it. He was set on Will, though, the lad was adventurous enough to pull something like it and definitely brave enough to risk his mentor's wrath. The Baron had a feeling that, if anything, Halt would take the blame for his apprentice without hesitation, simply because nobody could really reprimand him for it, unlike they could Will. But he didn't think about the possibility of accomplices.  
  
"And please tell me you don't think I and Will just decided to bother your guards together and waste a day of training," Halt said, the cold face returning more easily. "I have better things to do. Will does as well. In fact, I have better things to be doing _right now_."  
  
Slowly, Arald felt like he was beginning to boil over. There was such dismissal in Halt's voice, bordering on straight-up back-talk.  
  
"Come on, Halt!" He finally spoke up, but Halt merely looked on as if he was absolutely sure none of his Baron's words held any meaning. "The stealth, the laughter and now the horse - I have no idea how, but your boy's got something to do with it!"  
  
Oh, now his face was even worse, Arald thought. Instead of looking like he'd rather be somewhere else, Halt seemed a step away from checking in his leaf for breaking Ranger oaths against manslaughter of innocents.  
  
"I can assure you, my lord." Not a single muscle in his face so much as twitched. "That ‘ _my boy’_ has got nothing to do with it. I can question him if you'd like, but I have few ideas on what kind of partner-in-crime a boy alone in the woods would choose. And also how he'd get them inside. Under his cloak? They're not that large, I'm afraid."  
  
Arald managed to bite his tongue at just the right time so he wouldn't spit out _you people aren't too large either_ , mostly because he had no guarantees Halt wouldn't just strangle him over the table.  
  
"Then who else? Who else could it have been, Halt?" Arald pressed, vaguely aware he was being pushed into a corner.   
  
Halt sighed, settling back onto the chair and lacing his fingers over the crest rail again. "I don't wish to make guesses, my lord. They have the frustrating tendency of being horribly wrong."  
  
"Don't you Rangers specialize in making tediously correct guesses?" Arald stung, but it was very clearly the last kick of a dying man. Halt knew it as well, but he still leaned very slightly forward, his voice low.  
  
"Rangers specialize in taking advantage of chances." Rangers also didn't like generalizations, apparently. "They usually do that by ruling out all obviously wrong choices. And I - and my apprentice, for that matter - are a blatant wrong choice, my lord."  
  
For a second, Arald felt like he now understood what it was like to be on the opposing field of a Ranger. Halt was previously merely tired, then manageably upset. Now, with his muscles tense and his eyes burning numerous holes through Arald's forehead, he was bordering on cold fury, and the Baron didn't wish to be on the receiving end of that at all.

He gave up.  
  
"Fine, perhaps you're right."  
  
He leaned back in his chair, a voice in his head reassuring him that defeat was not necessarily humiliation. Halt mirrored his movement, some heat melting from his expression. He looked a little less like a mass-murderer-to-be, now. Just a little, though.   
  
"But I will want you to be investigating this matter whenever you are available," Arald added, and the Ranger's glance was easier on him. A half-smile peeked through.   
  
"All the free time I have, I will dedicate to this task, my lord," he promised, and Arald promptly realized this was the closest answer to a _Can you let it go now, for pity's sake_ he was going to get. Halt was notorious for never being available for anything he didn't deem important, even if his concept of importance usually aligned with Arald’s. Usually.  
  
After a moment of silence, the chair in front of Arald's desk was pushed back under. Halt - as he was standing, of course - was barely taller than Arald sitting down. And yet the fact that Arald didn't hear him standing up still didn't get any more comforting.  
  
"Don't concern yourself over this for longer, my lord," Halt said calmly. "Rest assured you will not hear anything next time."  
  
The strange wording prompted a question, but Halt had already stood up, and Arald didn't particularly feel like forcing him down again.  
  
"I will return to my duties then." _As if seeing me wasn't your duty_. The Baron slouched in his chair, closing his eyes.  
  
"So you will, Halt." Maybe a bunch of intelligent spies were a good idea for Araluen as a whole, but it definitely did little favour to the his nerves. "So you will."  
  
The Ranger bid him goodbye with a single short nod, and disappeared behind the door - this time, it didn't creak in the slightest.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

  
  
"How long do you reckon I could survive outside the fief with only Tug and no food?" Will said, his voice muffled by the sleeves of his shirt. He'd rested his head on his arms, tired of waiting for the clacking of Abelard's near-soundless hooves outside. The room was fading in and out of view. He was exhausted. Regrettably.  
  
Gilan, who had - or rather didn't have - just as much sleep as he did, hummed in genuine wonder, considering the options. He looked offensively awake, to Will's exasperation, and had earlier decided to make the most of his free time. It didn't take too long for him to grow bored of sticking arrows into every tree around the cabin and climbing up to get them back, though. Instead he opted to change the few flowers left inside to fresh ones, and had now collapsed on the chair in front of Will, no more worn out than before.  
  
Will, however, was uncertain if the new flowers would do anything to lift his mood. They smelled nice, and they reminded him of Halt. And he did not want to think about Halt.  
  
"Well," Gilan said, waving his hand in front of Will's face briefly to snap him out of thought, "Seeing as you have no food and a horse, you'd have to improvise. And hunger does tend to make people into, well, predators, honestly, and you'd be sitting on perfectly good prey, so my guess would be--"  
  
He snorted at Will's face of horror when confronted by the mere thought of harming his horse and raised his hands in peace, a thin smile flashing on his face.  
  
"Joking, joking. Trust me, one boar or another would pick you off the path way before you need to consider eating Tug anyway."  
  
"Hey!" Will threw his head up and made the best efforts to straighten his back. "As if I'd be scared of a boar!"  


"Don't let Halt hear that, or he might find you another one to fight just because he'd think that it'd be amusing." Gilan, however, clearly wasn't fooled by his attempt at looking any less tired than he felt.   
  
Will put his head on the table, floored, sleep tugging at his eyelids. He had no strength to argue anymore, besides, Gilan throwing Halt into the conversation sort of killed his spirit.  
  
"You think he'll figure it out?"  
  
"You think he won't? He'll catch on immediately, if he didn't the moment that messenger boy showed up here." Gilan snorted, making his way to the table, pulling out a chair and slouching down so he and Will were on the same level. "Unless he deliberately chooses to be blind throughout his visit, there's no way we're getting away with it, and we knew it."  
  
"Nobody saw us."  
  
"See, Will. _Maybe_ a resident of the castle could think it's a ghost, but Halt not being, well, stupid? Puts us at a disadvantage." He tilted his head and his voice grew softer when Will grunted in grim acknowledgement. "Oh, but it's definitely not a good enough reason to subject yourself or Tug to running away from him for the rest of your life. Knowing him, he'd probably still chase you down and drag you back by the ear."  
  
"Not if I go fast enough." Will smiled.  
  
"You can't out-'fast enough' Halt." Gilan speculated something for a while, then winked at him. "Unless your horse has longer legs than Abelard, that is."  
  
"If you think I'm beyond stealing Blaze, you'd better watch out." Tension slowly left Will's shoulders as he gave into friendly bickering. " _Brown eyes_ , yeah?"  
  
Gilan gave a fake gasp of horror. "No!"  
  
"Oh, why not?"  
  
"She's exhausted!"  
  
"From what?! She didn't even go!" Will argued, and, suddenly, a third voice cut in.  
  
"In that case, poor Tug must be incapacitated indeed."   
  
The door was open, and Will really wished Halt had some sort of side-step he'd forget like Gilan did when he always nearly tripped on a lose plank just by the door. Unfortunately, Halt's cabin was Halt's cabin, known to him better than the back of his hand. He stood at the doorway, silent as the night and scarily expressionless as he shook off his cloak to hang it.   
  
"To think such a tiny horse had to carry the both of you all the way to Redmont. I have no idea how he didn't give up halfway."  
  
_Ah, crap._ Will could hear the same thing in Gilan's head.   
  
Halt, however, kept on talking, slowly making his way to the table.  
  
"I'm not going to argue it's not the most moronic idea I've seen in play, but you're shortening your horse's years of service by overloading him with weight, and that isn't going to make you happy in the long run."  
  
His eyes were fixed on Will. Dark, dark eyes and not as friendly as he knew they could be.  
  
Will had leaned back up, only a little tense.   
  
"You're probably the biggest idiot I've met, Will, and I've had the pleasure of spending nearly every mission with Crowley when I was younger," he finally said, and, unceremoniously, whacked Will on the back of his head more with his sleeve than his hand.   
  
It didn't hurt anything but his pride, and although Gilan realized where this was going and was rapidly attempting to move out of the way, he had been right before; you really couldn't out-fast Halt.  
  
"And you!" Halt started, paying no mind to Gilan overdramatically burying his hand in his hair, as if he'd felt anything more than a rough wave of air. "You'd manage to turn anything into a prank opportunity, I don't know why I ever bothered trying to explain what self-control is to you!"  
  
Gilan was not as easily shamed as his less-experienced friend, so instead of looking away, he stared right back at Halt, albeit his smile might've been small enough to be guilty. "Sorry," he said softly. "Couldn't resist."  
  
"Can you ever?" Halt kept on. "You drag my apprentice down with you and I swear next time I hear you tripping down on those damn stairs I won't let you in at all! You weren't even supposed to be here, for pity's sake. If you're on your way to the ports, go to the damn ports instead of ghosting Castle Redmont! I thought you grew out of this, Gilan, I really did, but it turns out idiocy is permanent, isn't it?"  
  
Gilan blinked, his expression unchanging. Pleasantly, he asked, "Are you quite done?"  
  
Oh, it was like poking a bear with a stick, reckless and unnecessary, because Halt's eyes lit up and he seemed to grow a couple inches taller.  
  
"No, Gilan, I'm not quite done. You might want to sit down, because I would gladly tell you all I think about your nightly adventures and how you're an adult who's not supposed to be pulling tricks like this anymore!"  
  
He plopped down on a chair next to Will with such force the whole cabin seemed to shake. With a sigh, he rested his head over his elbow, and Will was reminded that he was probably just a little less tired than them but without the additional advantage of a battle rush, or whatever Gilan called it.  
  
"As I remember it," Gilan cut in, his voice still even but small, "A Ranger ceases his tricks only when Death pulls her greatest trick on him."  
  
"Do your whitened teeth a favour and keep your wisdom for poor Blaze to bear, because I'm a step away from clocking them out. I'm not making another pointless trip to Redmont just because you decided to play a game," Halt sneered, and Will stood to his friend's defense.  
  
"Halt, we didn't do any harm! We just walked around a bit, rearranged a few decorations and got back out." Flustered but standing, he still managed to hold his mentor's hard stare. "Did they see anything except Tug? They _did_ see Tug, right? What'd the Baron say? Did he see us?"  
  
"Settle down, Will, and know this all applies to you too," Halt scolded, forcing him back down into the chair after he'd jumped up.   
  
Silence settled for a minute or two, interrupted only by Gilan yawning expressionately and Will attempting to refrain in equal exaggeration.  
  
Halt was still shooting venomous glares at them for a bit before he most likely decided just staring wasn't good enough.  
  
"They only saw Tug, but since they managed to make out a Ranger horse, naturally, they assumed." A little crooked smile made its way up his face. "Of course, since they mostly see me at the castle, that's who they guessed was behind this."  
  
Will gave a quiet 'oh' as Gilan pressed his lips together in displeasure.  
  
"Quite unfair," he noted, and Halt snorted.  
  
"That you don't get the recognition for your deeds? A tragedy indeed."

"Hey, why are you only grating me?" He argued, gesturing toward Will, who threw his hand up to slash a finger across his own throat, _Go on and I'll kill you, Gil_. "I'm not the only one here!"  
  
"No, but you are the oldest and I expect responsibility from you, as a Ranger," Halt answered, lacing his fingers together on the table. Gilan doubled down on the table, letting out a strange noise that sounded more like wheezing than screeching, so Will went with that.  
  
"Me? Responsible? Halt, you took a boy who tailed you on for two days of travel as an apprentice and then expect responsibility?"  
  
"Yes," Halt confirmed. Will stayed quiet, a bit quicker than Gilan to realize that Halt was in no joking mood. He leaned forward slightly. The flame in his eye had been extinguished, but the glimmer still danced around in there. "You two have no idea how uncomfortable sitting in that damn chair in front of Arald's desk is. I spend the better part of the day trying to convince a skeptic Baron that my apprentice would be way above a situation he started himself, and you two sit here and nap. _That's_ what's unfair, Gilan."  
  
"We weren't--" Will started, but Halt didn't even need to look at him to shut him up.  
  
"This isn't about what you were or weren't doing, Will. You either be quiet and make sure _nobody_ sees or hears anything, or next time you and Gilan drag yourselves over to the Baron and explain why you were disturbing the peace on your own accord."  
  
Will froze in place, a smile slowly spreading across his face as Halt squinted at his surprise. To their side, Gilan made that strange wheezing noise again.  
  
"Wait, Halt. _Or_ we're quiet and make sure nobody hears or sees us?" Will echoed.  
  
"So you're not even mad about the prank?" Gilan asked, and Halt looked like he loathed ever saying anything.  
  
"Hardly a prank, though, was it?" He replied, less subtle about avoiding the question than he could be. "More like a guard check. I've done better."  
  
" _You've_ done better?" Gilan's tone grew lower. "Are you actually, really, physically challenging us right now?"  
  
"Why do you young folk always answer questions with questions?" Halt asked, immediately pressing his eyes shut and raising his hand to stop Will from pointing out his mistake. "Knew it as soon as I said it, let it go."  
  
"Halt, have you, by chance..." Gilan started with the widest and most terrifying grin Will had ever seen. "...ever pulled some, dare I say it, irresponsible tricks on the Baron's expense yourself?"  
  
Halt was quiet for a moment, staring straight ahead at the wall. Will was doing his best, his sincere best, not to burst into giggling at the face full of ungodly regret. His exhaustion was barely boiling somewhere in the corner of his mind.  
  
"I got to Redmont when I was younger than you now, Gil," he said through grit teeth. "Safe to say it gets a little boring when you're in the woods all by yourself."  
  
"A change of scenery, then?" Will suggested, fighting back the wave of laughter that was desperately clawing up his throat. If looks could kill, he would've been dead many times over by then.  
  
"Precisely," Halt muttered.   
  
"So you've no right to butcher us over making some fun for ourselves just this once!" Gilan exclaimed, but Halt jumped at the loose ends.  
  
"Oh, sit down, I've got every right there is." He gestured in Will's general direction. "First of all, don't involve him! Easy for you to just ride off into the sunset with Blaze never to be seen again, but he doesn't have that kind of immunity. Reputation builds, Gil, and if I can get him off the hook once doesn't mean I will again! Be glad the Baron doesn't know you're passing by, because the possibility of multiple people was essentially what wiped us off the list."  
  
"I'm confident in your abilities," Gilan said, although his smile had faded a bit.   
  
"Good for you! Not so much for me, though, as I'm the one using said abilities," Halt hissed. He stood, almost shoving the chair under the table to turn right to Gilan, who seemed to shrink a little. Will, again, now remembered very vividly that Gilan used to be his apprentice as well. "Secondly, if you want to pull something like that because you're bored to death - fine, but at least do it well! Giggling? Are you twelve? Don't leave evidence and _for the love of all that you hold dear, Gilan, don't get seen_! Doesn't Crowley tell you that?!"  
  
Crowley had been 'borrowing' Gilan from Halt's company during the Gatherings, and more often than that as well, lately. Now, the Ranger Commander lacked anything but wits, and the usual fun sparkle in his eye didn't make him any less intimidating, however Gilan did let on that his lessons were not any less strict than Halt's steely discipline.   
  
Sheepishly, Gilan corrected, "Not to be heard. I don't get seen just fine." It was rather widely accepted that Crowley could be doing his best to stomp around an enemy camp and not a soul would hear him nonetheless.  
  
Halt, however, just waved him off.  
  
"Then how, pray tell, did you two manage to be spotted by guards who weren't even looking for you in particular?"  
  
"Hey, we made it out fast enough!" Gilan argued, and Will carefully backed him up:  
  
"Besides, didn't you say they assumed it would be a single Ranger on that horse?"  
  
Halt pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "This isn't about their assumptions of quantity, it's about the fact they recognized you as Rangers. And it was because of- Well, you know. What was it because?"  
  
"Don't turn this into a moral, please don't turn this into a moral, we haven't slept for the whole night," Gilan begged, a half-smile still tugging at his lip.   
  
"And whose fault, Gil, is that, exactly?" Halt had raised both eyebrows – a rarity at its finest. Helplessly, he made a wide gesture with his arms and sat back down next to Will. "This isn't a moral, it's self-written advice. At least try and cover yourselves up if you ever decide to do something like that again - and for your own sakes, I'd suggest you refrain." He turned to the table, staring somewhere away. "Especially you, Will, you still have hope for yourself. Unlike some other people in this house. Adults. Adults who should, by all means, do better, but here we are, Gil, you're hopeless and I'm graying early because of you." He wasn't even looking at Gilan at that point. "I hope you're happy."  
  
Will's eyes widened a little at the tirade, but, seeing Gilan trying to swallow laughter just as he did a moment ago told he'd probably heard it so many times before he either stopped taking it seriously or never did at all.  
  
"Early, Halt?" His voice came out strangled. "I reckon you're on with it just in time!"  
  
It was probably the most unwise of all Gilan's remarks that day, but Halt barely even reacted, only leaning back in his chair to face the both of them.  
  
"What could've you done differently?" He asked after a pause. Will glanced at Gilan, but he was just as surprised at the question. Halt raised a finger. "Start from the beginning."  
  
"Are you actually gonna tell us how to--"

"Start. From the beginning," he repeated, the voice growing a little louder.

Gilan was the first to give a genuine answer, shooting Will a guilty look.

"I mean, we could've taken Blaze--"

"No, from the beginning," Halt cut him off again. "Firstly, you could've not done this at all."

Will sighed, rubbing the top of his head. Sure, it didn't hurt, but their wounded pride would take some time. "You told us that already."

"Did I tell you why?" He waited, and, given no answer, continued: "If you're really planning to wreak some havoc, at least be sure you're getting something out of it. If you're stealing cupcakes, for example..." He nodded at Will with defused accusations. "At least you're getting cupcakes."

Unwillingly, Will murmured, "With varying degrees of success."

Halt offered him a lenient look. "As with all things, Will. Either way, make it beneficial for yourself."

"I'd say watching the guards stumble around from tower to tower was beneficial to my health directly," Gilan noted, and Will, through a burst of giggles, voiced agreement. Halt raised his hands in an offer of peace.

"My only issue with it is that I didn't get to see it," he confessed. Will gladly admitted to himself that Halt had probably faced much bigger diplomatic challenges than wrangling two apprentices from a sticky situation. "But I digress. Now that we've made it clear you shouldn't have pulled something like this at all," Gilan's facial expression told pretty much the opposite. "Go on about your Blaze."

He cleared his throat.

"As I said, we probably should've taken her instead of Tug. She's a little taller, so she could've passed as any regular mount without a doubt." Gilan bit down on his lip, glancing outside toward the horses. "I was just wary she was tired after being on the road ever since we left Caraway."

"She most likely is," Halt agreed softly, following his glance. "Overall, I would stand with you on it, Tug was the better choice here."

"Or we could've gone without a horse," Will suggested, drawing their attention to himself. "I mean, err, we'd be much less likely to be seen without a horse. We could run through, and nobody would suspect a thing."

Gilan nodded in consideration, but Halt only tilted his head, thoughtful.

"It sounds nice in theory, but how long do you reckon it'd take you two to get to Redmont from here without a horse?"

"You don't live that far away," Gilan stated.

"It feels like that because you haven't walked the distance in a while, Gil," Halt argued, and Will hummed in acknowledgement. He and Halt had walked from the cabin to Castle Redmont quite a few times and it did take a considerable amount of time.

"Maybe you're right, then - we wouldn't have had enough time," Will admitted.

"Which, again, brings me to my first point-"

"Not to do it," He and Gilan answered in unison and equal exasperation.

"We know," Will assured.

"Indeed we do," Gilan said, resting his head on the backside of his hand. "Not an option. What would you suggest we should do, if we did decide to entertain ourselves after all?"

"Warn me first," Halt answered, and Gilan snorted.

"As if! Will might be a scaredy-cat, but seeing you at it is undeniably half the fun," he replied. While Will glared him down, Halt only shrugged.

"Then don't expect me to take care of your problems next time," he said, and continued a little more seriously. "Okay, back to Tug - in all honesty, you could've made a compromise, hidden the horse in the outskirts and ran the rest of the way for sure."

Will leaned back in his chair, puzzled. Really - why didn't they think of it? Although, while he looked just a little disappointed, Gilan seemed outright devastated.

"I must've been half-asleep," he muttered, repeating Will's thoughts: "How didn't we think of it?"

"Well, you must've been half-asleep," Halt echoed with a trace of a smile on his face. Glancing over to Will, he said, "Don't be so hard on yourselves. Seems like it was a fast plan."

"It was," Will assured. Gilan only gave a grim nod.

"Doesn't mean it can't be good."

"No, it doesn't," Halt agreed.

"It was decent!" Will cut in. "In such a short time. And you didn't know, either!"

Halt raised an eyebrow.

"You're right, I didn't know." He leaned back on the chair. "Next time I better."

Gilan chuckled. "So sure about a "next time", aren't you?" He only got a look that didn't feel too warm.

"I managed to keep you from burning the cabin down for five years and by gods I don't know how I did it, but if you keep coming back to steal my apprentice, of course there's gonna be a next time."

"Oh, he went quite willingly." Gilan smiled at Will, a warm, wide and very much accusing grin. "Didn't you?"

"If you wake up with all your hair shaved off tomorrow, Gil, know that it was me," Will answered sweetly. Halt looked away, the corner of his lips twitching up.

"As much as I'm enjoying you two going for each other's throat right now, I'm not going to entertain your ideas." Dark eyes found their faces again - first Gilan's, then Will's, a firm reprimand shown but not voiced. "I want to say one thing only - if something like this happens again, I won't answer for you."

"Okay," Will said. Gilan, again, only nodded. Halt watched them for a moment, figuring if they took their lesson.

"Oh, and, Gil," He added. "I know it's tempting to invite a friend when committing a crime, but I can tell when Will's not in his room."

"Oh?" Gilan raised his head, looking Will up and down in curiosity. Will squinted as well. "How come?"

Halt turned to Will slightly. "You close your door when you're inside, but you leave it open when you're not."

Will frowned. He hadn't noticed that. Well, Halt always noticed things. It was no wonder. And really, really, _stupidly_ obvious.

"I'll know what to change, then," he said, and Halt shrugged.

"I'll just knock."

"Privacy?" Gilan reminded. Halt pressed his lips into a thin line.

"I'm not kicking down the door, I'm just knocking," he sneered. "Besides, it's worth knowing whether my apprentice is sleeping - as he should be - or running around in the forests with a grown Ranger who is too old for this kind of s--"

Gilan took no time in cutting him off before he could really get into it.

"Okay, I got it! We got it! We got it, yeah, Will?" Will nodded hurriedly. "There. What's done is done. It's over with. What do you want me to do about it now?" He demanded.

Halt stared him down for a moment, eyes going a little foggy.

"Oh, I wish for nothing more than for you to shut up, at the moment," he muttered, leaning over to put his head over his arms as Will had done earlier when he was on the verge of passing out. "When do they expect you at the ports, again?"

"Tomorrow evening," He replied cheerfully, perking up. "I can still spend the night, then. I guess I mistimed." Not so subtly, he winked at Will again, who cracked a smile at the thought of chatting Gilan up all night.

"You're incapable of being early anywhere and you know it," Halt retaliated. "Next time at least give me your prank plan in advance. It'd be less stressful."

"Please. The only thing that ever stresses you out is the petals of your flowers going brown and falling off- Which I replaced, by the way." Gilan lifted his chin up. "You're welcome."

Halt muttered something that sounded less like a "Thank you" and more like a "Damn you to hell," not even raising his head to get the words out clearly.

Silence settled over them. Comfortable silence, too. It was a relief to know Halt wasn't all that upset at them - hey, he'd probably forgotten to assign Will kitchen duty as punishment, too. Either way, it felt nice.

However, Halt was nearly falling asleep on that table, and as Gilan yawned, Will felt like he was about to follow. Something had to be done about three Rangers incapacitated in their own cabin.

Slowly, Will stood up, turning to the counters.

"I'm gonna make coffee, then," he announced.

Gilan's head shot up as he beamed like a child promised candy. Halt only grumbled something most certainly ungrateful under his breath, and all Will had to offer to that was a chuckle.

And all was well once more.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u very much for reading!! i sure enjoyed writing more family tropes tm such as Oldest Sibling Always Gets Blamed For Everything That Ever Happened In This House. am i petty? you have 3 guesses


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